Improvement in plows



T. F. GHAPIN.

Plowi N0. 11.356. Patnted July 25, 1854.

AILPHOTO-LITHD. 6U. NX. (USBVORNE'S PROCESS.)

UNirnD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS F. OHAPIN, OF WALPOLE, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

IMPROVEMENT` ION PLOWS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l I,356, dated July 25, 1854.

To all whom 'it may concern: Be it known that I, THOMAS F. GHAPIN, o

Walpole, in the county of Cheshire and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new and `useful Improvement in Plows; and I do hereimprovement in plows; and it consists, rst,

in having the beam attached to the moldboard or iron-work of the plow by a pivot, so that the outer end of the beam may be elevated or depressed, as desired, and thereby give the point of the share a greater or less tendency to enter the earth and causing the furrow to be of the required depth.

My invention consists, second, in the peculiardevice or means employed for elevating' and depressing the outer end of the beam.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A, Fig. 1,is the mold-board ot' the plow constructed as usual 5 andB B are the stilts or handles, attached to the mold-board and lower parts of the plow in the ordinary manner.

O is the beam, of the usual form and construction, attached to the upper part of the mold-board A by a pivot, a. (See Figs. l and 2.)

D is a box or socket, having within it a rack, E, and pinion F. The rack and pinion are both seen in Fig. 2. The box or socket is placed near the upper ends of the stilts or handles B B,Aand is supported in an inclined position by braces b b b, attached to any convenient part of the plow. (See Fig. l.)

G is a rod attached by pivots c to the under surface of the rack E and to the inner end of the beam C. (See Figs. l and 2.)

The axis of the pinion F (represented by d) extends through the box or socket D at one side, (see Fig. 3,) and is provided `with a slot, e, in which a cam, f, tits, said cam workin g on a pivot, g, which passes transversely through th-e axis. To this cam is attached the handleH.

I is a piece of wire, bent in the form of a staple, one end or leg ot' which passes longitudinally through the axis cl, (see dotted lines, Fig.3,) and the other end or leg passes through the side of the box or socket D and catches into the teeth of the rack E, as shown in Fig. 2.

J is a spring at the outer end of the staple I, said spring keeping one end orleg of the staple I in or between the teeth of the rack.

In order to operate the beam the handle H is raised in an upright position, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, and the camf, as it turns on the pivotg, will throw the leg ot' the staple l', which is within the axis d, outward, and the other leg of the staple will also be thrown outward and freed from the rack E. By turning thehaudle H around in either direc tion the pinion F will move the rack E forward or backward, and the rod Gr will consequently raise or depress the inner end of the beam C, and as the beam G works on the pivot a, the outer end will be raised or depressed inversely tothe inner end. When the handle H is turned downward in a horizontal position the spring J will throw one leg ofthe staple between the.

teeth of the rack and secure the beam in the desired position. By raising and 'depressing the outer end of the beam the share will have a greater or less tendency to enter the earth. For instance, it' the outer end of the beam be raised, the point of the share, owing to the line of draft,wi1l incline downward to a much greater degree than if the outer end of the beam were depressed.

The advantage ofthe above invention is that `the furrow maybe made of the required depth `throughout an entire field, however much the earth may vary in hardness or unevenness of surface. It is evident that in plowing a field the share will have a tendency to be thrown upward when passing through hard ground, owing to the resistance the hard ground offers to the share. lheplowman may always compensate for this resistance by operating the.

beam and giving the share a greater or less tendency to enter the earth, according to the character of the ground, and thus cause the furrows to be of a uniform depth throughout.

I do'not claim the employment or use of an adjustable beam, irrespective ot' the mode of attachment, as herein shown, for adjustable beams have been previously used. Neither do I claim the use of the rack and pinion separately or irrespective of its arrangement or peculiar connection to the beam.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Attaching the beam C to the mold-board A by a pivot7 a, for the purpose of allowing the outer end of said beam to be raised or depressed, as desired, and thereby give the share a greater tendency to enter the earth and causing the fur= rows to be of the desired depth.

2. The means herein shown and described for operating the beam C, viz: the box or CrHos. E. CHAPIN.`

Witnesses GEO. PERRY, ALEXANDER S. CAMPBELL. 

